Another Day
by blacksouledbutterfly
Summary: Firefighter Puck gets caught in a fire.


It isn't the first time he'd ever been it. It wasn't even the worst one. But it was the first time he had ever come so close to ending up in the great beyond. And it was really fucking pathetic that he was thinking of it as that. It had to be something he picked up from Rachel. She was the only person he knew that would call it that.

Being a firefighter meant he risked being caught in fires. And fuck him if everyone wasn't shocked as all hell to find out what he had decided to be. Noah Puckerman of all people being one of the good guys, one of the "heroes". No one had expected that. And why would they expect that? He didn't give any indication when he was younger that he would do anything like that.

He had always known that being a firefighter was a risk and that he could definitely get caught in a fire. He wasn't stupid. He knew it was a big risk but he had to admit that the risk was sort of a thrill. It wasn't something he was ever going to admit to the people that cared about him the most. He wasn't about to tell his girlfriend or his mother or anyone that he enjoyed the thrill. Because they would worry that he was trying to get himself killed. But he wasn't trying to die. It just reminded him that he was alive. Every time he took a risk he was reminded that he was alive and well.

This time had been close though. The building he was in was so filled with smoke it was hard to see and they were all trying to make their way through and get everyone out of the apartments. The fire had spread so far that almost no one had been able to get out. It was probably because it was a really badly kept building but he didn't know for sure. All he knew was that the smoke was becoming too much and that pieces of wood were coming down everywhere.

A piece of wood came down and trapped his legs and he felt like he was going to die in that moment. He honestly and truly felt like he was going to burn to death in that building. It was one of those strange moments where it felt like time was standing still. The flames were flickering slowly and the heat was almost unbearable even through his protective gear.

If his partner hadn't doubled back to get him and helped move that piece of wood off of him then he would have died. He knows that for sure. He would have laid there and burned to death in the fire. And it was honestly the first time he had felt fear when he was in a fire. It was the _only_ time that he had ever been that close to death though so he figured that made sense.

The captain insisted that he got checked out. They wanted to be sure he was actually alright. He insisted, of course, that he was just fine. He hadn't really inhaled much in the way of smoke thanks to his gear and he had a slight puncture in his leg from where the wood had hit it but it wasn't enough to cause any real damage. It just needed to be bandaged up.

They wanted him to go to the hospital but he couldn't bring himself to actually go there. He knew he wasn't hurt that badly. And in that moment he felt even more alive than he ever had when going into a fire. It was strange that basically almost dying could make a person feel so alive. He never thought that would be the case. But there it was. It wasn't the adrenaline that made him feel that way the way going into a fire did. It was just the fact he had survived, that he was alive. And with that feeling he didn't want to go to the hospital. He didn't want to sit there and be examined and poked by doctors. That was actually the last thing he wanted to do.

It took him about half an hour of bickering with his captain to get the okay to go home on his own. He wasn't actually planning on going home just yet but that wasn't the point. He just wanted to get out of there and he wanted to see his girl. He didn't think that was too strange given the fact that he had almost died. What normal guy wouldn't want to see his girl after almost kicking the bucket?

So, that's why he makes his head to the theater Rachel's been working at for the last few months. He knew how to get there so easily he could probably do it in his sleep. He makes his way to the theater and heads inside the stage door, nods at the guy who lets him in who he knows he's met about a million times but can't remember the name of off the top of his head. He nods at him and then stands off to the side while Rachel is talking with a few people on the stage. He doesn't want to interrupt her and not just because she gets snippy when he does that.

He waits until she's done before he lifts up his hand to get her attention. He smiles at her when she smiles at him first, watches her as she moves towards him. It's sort of weird that he honestly can't say she's ever seemed hotter to him. And sure, he always thought she was hot but she just seems hotter to him in that moment. It has to be because he could have died. Why else would she suddenly seem different but still totally the same to him?

As soon as she's in front of him though he just reaches out and wraps his arms around her waist, brings her closer to him, slants his mouth over hers and kisses her. He really can't help himself. Earlier that day he thought he was going to die. And now that he knew he was going to live and he was going to be just fine? Well, he's really happy to see his girl. Call him a fucking sap if you want but he's glad to be there with her.

Rachel blinks at him, obviously very surprised that he had suddenly kissed her like that. Any time he has come to visit her at the theater he usually waited until they were alone to actually kiss her. Not because he was ashamed of her or anything of the sort. But he just wasn't into kissing her in front of the rest of the people there. He seemed to like privacy between them. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is cool, babe." Okay, that's only half of a lie but still. He's alright just then. And there's no need to worry her in front of everyone else. Why would he want her to have a panic attack in front of the other people? "Can we go talk? In a dressing room or something?" Privacy was good when telling her what happened.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." She nods her head a little bit and then leads him towards the back, furrows her eyebrows a little when she sees that he's sort of limping as he moves. She opens her mouth to ask him what happened but shuts it and just leads him into the dressing room. It's not until she closes the door behind her that she looks at him again. "What happened to your leg?"

"Sit." When she doesn't right away he reaches out and puts his hands on her waist and lifts her up, puts her on the little dressing table and then takes a step back from her just to look at her. "There was a fire today. Hurt my leg, that's all."

"How bad? Are you alright? Noah, what happened?" The worry in her eyes is so evident that he almost smiles because it's really sweet. Reaching out she puts her hands on his face and rubs her thumbs over his cheeks. And fuck him if he concern doesn't make him feel sort of awesome. It's nice to know she loves him that much.

"There was a lot of smoke. Stuff came down. Pinned my leg. My partner got me out. I'm fine though, babe. Just a little puncture wound. It was just wood, so, no shot needed or anything. No stitches. I'm good. I promise."

"Noah…Noah, you could have died. If he didn't get back to you in time…"

"Babe, it's always a risk. We both know that. But I'm fine. Shit happens and you just move on."

"I hate it." Reaching out she wraps her arms around his waist and brings him closer to her, rests her head against his chest mostly because she wants to hear the sound of his heart beating. She wants that reminder that he really is still alive, that he's going to be fine. "I know you love what you do. And I'd never ask you to quit because you support me in everything I do. It's only fair I support you, too. But I hate this. I hate that you could die."

"I know you do, babe."

"I just don't want to go to your funeral."

"I'm not going to die on you."

"You can't promise me that."

"No, but I can promise to work my ass off not to die on you. Don't need you being pissed at me because I kicked the bucket on you."

She doesn't want to laugh and he knows it but she laughs anyway. It sort of seems like she can't stop herself from laughing. It's a sad sort of laugh though because she knows deep down there's no chance he can guarantee he won't die. She has accepted though that he lives for his job and she would never ask him to quit. No matter how nervous she gets about the possibility of him dying she's never going to ask him to quit. It would be as unfair as it would be if he asked her to quit what she did. "I'd never forgive you," she admits.

"But I'm not dead," he reminds her. He takes her face in his hands and tilts her face up so it's angled towards him. "I'm standing right here, babe."

"I know you are."

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"You better work hard to keep that promise."

"I'm going to work my ass off, babe. Just like I said. Gonna work as hard as I possibly can."

His hands still on her face he leans down slightly and he kisses her. He kisses her because he feels alive this time not because he's going into a burning building but because he survived an event that could have ended in his death. He feels alive because his beautiful girl is sitting right in front of him and he knows he can see her for at least one more day. Well, obviously longer because he's not going to be going into another burning building for a little while. Not with his leg all fucked up the way it is.

They have sex right there in the dressing room as she's sitting on the vanity, her back arching, her head tilting back, her voice breathy as she says his name, her biting down on her bottom lip to try to keep her moans quiet so that other people can't really hear her. She's always afraid of them getting caught if they do something sexual in a public place. It's amusing and adorable all at the same time. It's one of the millions of things he adores about her. He just doesn't list them because it seems silly to do so. All she has to know is that he truly adores her.

When it's all over and she's sitting there trying to calm his breathing and their foreheads are pressed together he runs his fingers through his hair and for a moment it's just all quiet, it's just all silence. For a moment there's just the two of them standing there in that room. And that's all he needs just then. Because in a while he'll be right back to working at the fire department and she'll be right back to worrying about his safety. But for then it's just the two of them and he's safe. He's safe and she's there with him.

So for now everything is just fine with them. And for now he can just be happy that he's lived to see another day, has lived to spend more time with his girl.


End file.
